Nonlocking bumper guard



July 16, 1940.- o. H. GOETZ NONLOCKING BUMPER GUARD Filed March 16, 1936 Patented July 16, 1940 NONLQCKING BUMPER. GUARD Oscar H. Goetz, Chicago, 111., assignmto Ameri.

can Chain &' Cable Co tion of New York mpany, Inc., a corpora- Application March 16, 1936, Serial No. 69,016

'1 Claims.

cause it seldom happens that both bumpers are The guards are in- I at exactly the same level. tended to prevent one bumper from overriding the other with resultant damage to the vehicles carrying them. However, it not infrequently happens, with guards as heretofore constructed,

that a bumper will override or underride the guard of another bumper and will become hooked fast thereto. When thus interlocked, it is usually a diflicult matter to disengage the bumpers.

An object of the present invention is to provide a bumper guard in which such interlocking of bumpers is prevented,

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a guard with a vertical extension which is rigid with the bumper when subjected to an inward force, that is, a force directed toward the vehicle carrying the bumper, but which is resiliently yieldable to a pull in the opposite direction. Thus, my improved guard serves all the purposes of a rigid guard as heretofore made with the advantage that it will yield in case another bumper should become hooked upon the extension and permit ready disengagement of the parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide the yieldable extension with a rounded guide surface on the inward side thereof such that when a bumper has been hooked by the extension it will be guided by such surface to clear itself from the guard.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear in the following description of a preferred embodiment and thereafter the novelty and scope of the invention will be pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a face view of my improved guard applied to a bumper, the latter being shown fragmentally;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow 2; and

Fig. 3 is a face view of a bumper provided with a pair of my improved guards.

The bumper shown in the drawing consists of a bar 8 of concave-convex cross-section with the This exconvex side facing outwardly. Mounted on this bar are two guards I0. Each guard comprises a body portion I 2 suitably curved to fit against the convex face of the bar and secured thereto by a bolt I 4 bearing a clamping nut l6 at the inner end thereof. The bumper is supported on the vehicle by means of resilient brackets l8 having lateral flanges 20 through which the bolts I! are passed and against which the nuts iii are tightly secured.

The body portion l2 of each guard is provided with ears 22 at the upper and lower ends thereof and between these ears are mounted'extensions 24, one to the upper and the other to the lower end of the body. -These extensions are hinged to the body by means of bolts 28 which pass through the ears 22 and through inwardly directed marginal flanges 30. The flanges are thickened as at 26 where the hinge bolts penetrate them. These flanges terminate at one of their ends adjacent the bumper in hooks or stop fingers 32 which are adapted to engage the inner face of the bumper bar 8 when the extensions are in substantially vertical position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 2,. In such vertical position the extensions are maintained resiliently by means of springs 34 disposed at the inner side of the bumper, which springs are hooked to the flanges '30 at 36.

It will be noted by an inspection of Fig. 2 that the flanges 30 are formed with curved margins substantially concentric with the hinge bolts, extending thence in one direction to form the stop fingers 32 and in the opposite direction tapering off to zero at the free extremity of the extension. The flanges are thus formed to serve as guides for an opposing bumper, as will be explained hereinafter.

In operation should an opposing bumper B (Fig. 2) strike one of the extensions, it will be blocked thereby because the stop fingers 32 will prevent it from swinging inwardly. However, should the opposing bumper override and snap past an upper extension it can be readily disconnected therefrom by adirect pull, because the extension will swing outwardly on its hinge pin 22, as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 2, and the bumper B will be guided by the curved edges of the flanges 30 over the hinge connection of the extension to the guard body. Obviously, the lower extension would act in the same way in case the bumper B were low enough to ride under the bumper 8. Thus, in either case, the guard will be found to be nonlocking and self-clearing.

While I have described a preferred embodiment to be taken as illustrative and not limitative and that I reserve the right to make various changes in form, construction and arrangement of parts falling within the scope of my claims.

I claim: I

1. A bumper guard comprising a body portion adapted to be clamped against the outer face of a bumper, a vertical extension hinged to the body and having a stop finger extending past the hinge point of the extension and adapted. to bear against the inner face of the bumper when the extension is in substantially vertical position, and a spring normally holding the extension in vertical position but yieldable to permit the extension to swing outwardly.

2. A bumper guard comprising a body'portion adapted to be clamped against the outer face of abumper, a vertical extension hinged-to the body and having a stop finger extending past the hinge point of the extension and adaptd to bear against the inner face of the bumper when the extension is in substantially vertical position, and a spring normally holding theex tension in vertical position'but yieldable' to permit the extension to swing outwardly, said. ex?

tension being formed onthe inner 'sidether'eot with guide means to guide an objecthooked to the extension clear oi the'hinge between the :ex-"J'. I u

" rear i'ace ofv the bumpertba'r'when said-extensions tension and body. I

3. A bumper guard'comprising g body adapted 1 to the bottom of the body, each extension having a stop finger extending past the hinge point and adapted to bear against the inner face of the bumper when the extension is in substantially vertical position, and spring means connecting the extensions and urging the extensions to vertical position but permitting either or both of the extensions to swing outwardly in response to an outwardly directed force, each of the extensions being'tormed with a guide flange adapt-'- ed to guide an engaging body clear of the hinge points upon exerting a force tending to separate such body fromthe bumper.

5. Abumper'guardcomprising'a body adapted to be seated against -.'the Iront'i'ace of a bumper bar, a vertical extension hinged to the upper end 01' the body, a verticalextension hinged to the lower end 01' 'the"body.ieach extension having a portion adapted to bear'fagai'nst the rear face of the bumper bar when the extension is in vertical position and means for .holding said extensions 1 in vertical'positionsfaim said portions pressed against-the reariace oifthev bumper bar. 7

' 6;A bumper guard comprising a body having a recessin its rear .iace adapted to receive a bumper .baryverticai extensions 7 hinged to the.v upper andlwi riend's-"oi saidbody atlpo'ints to 1;,the rearofjthe-iront ji'ace' oi the bumper bar.

to be clamped to a bumper, apaiiyofrvertical extensions, one hinged to the top and the other to the bottom oi? the body, each extension having a stop finger extending past'the hingepoint and adapted to bear against the inner-iace' of the bumper when the extensionis in, substantiallyvertical position, andspring means connecting the extensions and urging the extensions to ver-f tical position but permitting either or both 0t the extensions to swing outwardly'inresponseto outwardly directed force.

4. A bumper guard comprising a-bodyi. adaptedi to be clamped to a bumpena pair of vertical ex-y; tensions, one hinged tojthe top and thg other 1 are in 5 vertical: po

and having'portionsjadapted tolbe'aragainst the I ition, and-"means iorfholding said extensions inf-vertical'position.

per andlower ends of said body having portions 7. Abumper'guard'conipi'isins a body-having a I i. recess -in; its rear face adaptedfltotreceive a bumper baryverticalextensionshinged to the upadapted" to bear against the rear face 01' thef bumper bar whjen said extensions are in vertical]; position, and spring means connecting said'extensions and-located to'the'rear of-said bumper bar forv holding said extensions in vertical posi.-- 1 tionand said portions pressed against the vbumperv 

